Hidden Mickeys, Pin Trading and Fun at Disney World

My family and I had the awesome privilege to visit Disney World in Orlando Florida last month. We visited the Magic Kingdom last year, and we were all anxious to see more of Disney World this year. We also decided to embrace some of the traditions at Disney World and do some pin trading and search for Hidden Mickeys. We did a lot of reading online to help us in our search for Hidden Mickeys, but in the end it didn’t help us a lot, lol. We found a total of three hidden mickeys in the parks. We were just too involved in all of the fun to remember to look for them! We have learned that there are Hidden Mickeys in many Disney films as well, so we have been watching and trying to find them. There is a hidden mickey one in the pictures below…can you find it?

We did find a lot of Disney Cast Members who were pin trading though, and we had so much fun with this! I had purchased a Tinkerbell starter set for Avery when I was at Disneyland in California, and when we got to Disney World, we picked up a Star Wars start set for Kellen, a Phineas and Ferb Starter set for Griffin and I bought a Mickey Mouse starter set for myself. Avery really likes the “girly” pins and the Hidden Mickey pins and she managed to find several. Kellen didn’t want to trade any of his pins, so we ended up buying some more pins that he could trade…and we bought a couple of special pins too. I can’t wait for our next visit so we can trade some more! I have already been looking at the pins online to get ready.

We went back to the Magic Kingdom on this trip, because we loved it so much. I like that they have things that all of the kids (and the big kids…Mom and Dad) enjoy. We grabbed a fast pass for Splash Mountain when we got there. If you have never been on Splash Mountain, you have to give it a try. It’s a small roller coaster, but it’s so much more than that…you see a very detailed musical show while going through the ride. When you combine that with the little dips and the chance of getting wet…it’s so much fun!

What I love the most about Magic Kingdom is that it really does feel magical. We took the ferry across, and watching the castle get closer and closer is not only a beautiful sight, it builds excitement. We noticed they are doing a lot of building around the castle, and we are excited and curious to learn what they are doing. The highlight of Griffin’s day was getting to meet Woody and Jessie from Toy Story. He met Buzz Lightyear last year, and it was awesome for him to say hello to two more of his favourite characters. The Electric Parade was amazing again, and this time we watched the fireworks from in front of the castle, which was incredible.

We also went to Hollywood Studios. I visited it once before, when it was called MGM Studios about 24 years ago, lol. It was one of my favourite places when I visited back then, so I was looking forward to seeing how my kids enjoy it now. It certainly had a Grand entrance!

Our first stop was to see the Indiana Jones Stunt Show. I didn’t really know what to expect, and I was worried that the kids would think it was boring. This is Disney, so I’m not sure what I was thinking… of course they weren’t bored! What a great show. It had humor and excitement, lots of things blowing up, and it gave Kellen the “behind the scenes” education that he loves so much. Griffin wanted to see it again right away. He was very impressed!

There were no fast passes left for the new Toy Story ride, and with an hour long line up we decided not to do it, but we did do the Star Tours ride, which Kellen and I experienced in California and he was eager to share it with everyone else. It was just as good in Florida! We definitely need to get a longer visit to Hollywood Studios so that Avery can see the Snow White show she was looking forward to, and we can all see everything there. I think it needs a whole day to itself!

We squeezed in a visit at the Animal Kingdom too. This was a first for all of us, and it was really nice. We visited the Bug’s Life and saw a great show with Flik that was entertaining and creepy all at once (creepy for those of us who don’t love bugs). My favourite part of the Animal Kingdom was the safari. We got a fastpass for it as well, so we didn’t have to stand in line, and then we went on an amazing adventure where we saw animals up close.

It was another amazing visit to Disney World. There is always so much to see and do that I think we could visit every year and never run out of ways to be entertained.

Sheri McDonald is a Mom to 4 awesome kids who range in age from 6 to 21. She is a Canadian Mom Blogger, a Travel Blogger, a Brand Ambassador, a Social Media Influencer, a Spokesperson and an amateur photographer. You can find her writing about family life, food, travel, Disney and family friendly products at Kidsumers (a play on the word 'consumers') and sharing her travel experience at Big Family Travels.

When we went to Disney World we suddenly got into pin trading (well, more like collecting). It’s addictive! I have three pins from our trip then and can’t wait to get more. I’ve been to DW three times, my husband once, and we need to take our son there when he’s a little older.

My sons just recently got into pin “collecting”, too! We were just there and even though we’ve been a number of times, there really is always more to do. (I don’t mind that at all!) Next time you go to Hollywood Studios, please ride Toy Story Mania! It’s my favorite. Fast passes go quickly in the early hours, but this is one ride that is worth the wait. Oh and, I did not find the Hidden Mickey. My sons are much better at finding those.

Wow, there is so much to do. I’m excited and exhausted just hearing about your trip. The picture with the Toy Story characters is greatness. My family hasn’t made it to Disney, but it is on our travel bucket list.

Hubby and I were just talking about Disneyland yesterday. We cannot wait to take the girls!if Disney on Ice was magical for them, I can only imagine the look on their eyes when we go. I was there more than 25 years ago so it will be fun for mr too.

I had no idea about pin trading! I should probably start researching these things now!